In this task, you're given a context passage, followed by a question that needs to be answered. Based on the paragraph, you must write unambiguous answers to the questions and your answer must refer to a specific phrase from the paragraph. If multiple answers seem to exist, write the answer that is the most plausible.

Let me give you an example: Tracy slept awkwardly on their new bed and was having some pain, so Tracy cracked her neck. 
Question: What did Tracy do with her neck?
The answer to this example can be: crack her neck
Here is why: The output phrase perfectly answers the question and is explicitly mentioned in the passage as well.

OK. solve this:
In 1688 the most powerful navies were the French, English, and Dutch; the Spanish and Portuguese navies had suffered serious declines in the 17th century. The largest French ships of the period were the Soleil Royal and the Royal Louis. Each rated for 120 guns, they never carried their full complement. These ships were too large for practical purposes. The former only sailed on one campaign and was destroyed at La Hogue; the latter languished in port until sold in 1694. By the 1680s, French ship-design was at least equal to its English and Dutch counterparts, and by the Nine Years' War the French fleet had surpassed ships of the Royal Navy, whose designs stagnated in the 1690s. Innovation in the Royal Navy, however, did not cease. At some stage in the 1690s, for example, English ships began to employ the steering wheel, greatly improving their performance, particularly in heavy weather. 
Question: Before the 1690s, what invention was largely absent from English ships?
Answer:
the steering wheel